Apparently there was a time when a massive pile of snow did not sit in front of the liquor store, and the street was a strange grey colour, not white. This photo was taken in 2015. Photo credit: Don Mabie

February stats no comfort to winter-weary

“It’s because I have to shovel from my deck across my front yard to the road, and every year I get older, and the snow gets heavier,” he says. “And every year we seem to get more snow.”

The artist and prolific poster to Facebook has been peppering his news feed with pictures of a snow-less March in Nakusp, with sandy beaches, clear roads and spring flowers… in 2015, to be exact.

“They just pop up as my ‘memories’ on my feed, so I re-post them, he says. “It’s like the snow gods are combining to make my life miserable.”

Mabie can be forgiven for thinking the snow gods are out to get him.

According to the weather records, February was a particularly brutal month in Nakusp for the white stuff, with 250 per cent more snowfall than normal.

A report from the Southeast Fire Centre’s Weather Forecasting unit says 68.1 centimeters of snow fell last month, compared to a normal of 25.7. And that’s measuring south of here – Nakusp likely received far more.

“Typical of a La Nina winter and very similar to February 2017, February 2018 was cooler than normal and relatively eventful with more than double the normal snowfall,” reports forecaster Ron Lakeman.

It was also a month to keep the hat and mitts handy, with the mean monthly temperature 2.5 degrees cooler than normal. Minimum temperature were records were set on three days in mid-month.

Despite the greater-than-average snowfall, precipitation was almost normal last month, as far less rain fell than usual.

But, as Mabie knows all too well, you don’t have to shovel rain.

“Give me a break already,” Mabie says. “Why didn’t I move to Victoria? I have friends posting pictures of flowers.”

He may not want to put the shovel away quite yet. While temperatures are forecast to continue to rise, weather experts say La Nina springs are slow in coming.

The Nakusp waterfront in 2015, compared to this year. 2015 photo by Don Mabie. 2018 by John Boivin